Addressing Entrepreneur Mental Health

As the co founder of Life Recovery Program (LRP), Paul Radkowski is especially in tune with the pressures of entrepreneurs. He says being a founder or entrepreneur is unique. As a noun, founder refers to the originator of something. As a verb, it means to sink or fail. Paul explains that word itself alludes to the challenges of entrepreneurship.

In an article on techcrunch.com some staggering statistics indicate that founders are often more likely to suffer from mental health conditions. The article suggests that addressing the “ongoing mental health catastrophe in entrepreneurship” is a must!

Radkowski explains that issues affecting entrepreneurs are subjective and can sometimes be related to perception of subjective socio-economic status. The past impacts the present and the future; that can be troubling for people. Self-care is critical in maintaining mental health.

Burnout happens when lives are not in balance, when our stressors are greater than our coping resources, Radkowski said. Studies show some entrepreneurs fail due to human centric reasons, emotional and psychological – it spills over. The danger then, is that stress spews out and affects staff, family and friends.

“Mentors, friends and networks can help. Having someone you can vent to provides validation and helps eliminate the noise,” Paul advises. “Building a sense of relationship is so important for founders. Once the noise is released you can think clearly.”

“Move your body, quiet your mind, connect with others and live your purpose,” Paul says. Living your purpose, he explained, is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.

Did you know stress can actually decrease a person’s IQ by 15 points? Additionally, anxiety comes in and can turn to aggression. All things considered, a highly stressful environment such as a startup has fires to put out and pressure to achieve and succeed. In that environment, “you better make sure your coping resources and skills are high,” advised Radkowski. It’s about resilience, he added. “Resilience equals persisting in the face of adversity and ambiguity. You really need to have your stuff together to meet the challenges of entrepreneurship and avoid startup burnout.”

Because founders are so invested, their company can become their identity. By pouring everything they have into their company, and working around the clock in multiple roles, they don’t often make time for self care. “If you don’t take a break, you break,” he says.